South Sudan emerged out of Africa’s longest-ever civil war, a war that caused ruinous damage. According to the Africa Medical Research Foundation, 2.5 million people lost their lives, another four million people emigrated, many of them to Canada where there are now approximately 16,000 South Sudanese Canadians, says Philip Gae, a South Sudanese community leader based in Toronto.

Although many of its elected officials are military men turned politicians, Kroeker believes that South Sudan has promise.

“Aside from its current situation as a developing nation, the prospect of advancing democracy here and the feeling of hope within the nation will truly provide it an opportunity to become a very strong democracy in Africa,” said Kroeker, who has also trained Iraqi parliamentarians.

Kroeker asked the legislators to list the ten top major issues facing the new state. A few minutes of brainstorming yielded a list that included: infrastructure, food security, jobs, primary education, healthcare, oil revenue distribution, security and gender inequality.

As a former Senate advisor and Director of Communications for the Secretary of State at Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Kroeker said he is deeply aware of the challenges the parliamentarians will face as they try to push through their agendas. He reminded his audience that successful policies need a solid research-based foundation to improve the lives of their constituents.

South Sudan seeks greater political diversity

The South Sudanese fought a war against the north because they felt excluded from political participation. So promoting a more diverse political culture will be crucial for the stability of South Sudan.

Currently, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) and its military wing, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA), are the dominant political force in South Sudan. And although a recent inter-party dialogue provided space for opposition parties to voice their positions, there remains little space for dissent.

“I am glad that we are having this policymaking workshop because there is a lot we can learn from Canada. It is a parliamentary system just like our system. But I think that introducing policies that are not directly beneficial to the SPLM and have it passed in parliament will be the same as trying to squeeze blood out of a rock,” said independent MP Oliver Mule Gabriel. “I was booted out of the party because my views did not go well with the current leadership of the party. Moving political parties from a leadership based system to an issue based system is going to be a major challenge for us.”

A delicate balancing act

Kroeker cautioned the parliamentarians that new states must be careful when crafting new laws and regulations lest they be seen as infringing on freedoms.
“Public policy must balance goals and aspirations of citizens with realistic outcomes that factor limited resources of the state and the abilities of people,” Kroeker said.

“As I indicate to folks in Iraq, one tribe does not need water over another tribe. Here in South Sudan, the Dinka and the Nuer tribes equally need water, equally need good roads. Moving them away from tribal concerns means they can focus on commonalities.”

One parliamentarian who said he was emboldened by the workshop was Fr. Prudensio Luku, who is also a Catholic priest.

“We have heard the message from our Canadian friend. He believes in us. We have grabbed the message and now we will take it back to parliament and try and use some of the strategies we have learned. We have a long way to go and we cannot allow failure,” said the Member of Parliament for Juba West, a riding with staggering illiteracy rate. “The last few weeks we have been mostly occupied with massive celebrations, but soon we are going to be hit by reality. There is likely to be a lot of dissatisfaction because expectations are too high. We don’t have the capacity to deliver services to our people.”

In January, a delegation of six Canadian parliamentarians and senators visited South Sudan to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. They met with government officials, a group of South Sudanese Canadians and representatives of Canadian non-governmental organizations working in the region.
International organizations, including the United Nations, say that South Sudan faces an enormous challenge and will need lots of help from its supporters in order to fulfil its dreams of nationhood.

One idea suggested by Fr. Prudensio is to encourage South Sudanese living in the Diaspora to return home and contribute to the nation-building exercise. In this way, South Sudanese Canadians could play a major role in shaping the future of their country of origin.

Kennedy Jawoko is a Toronto based journalist. He recently returned from a trip to South Sudan.